â—† While there is no cure for Ebola, there's mixed evidence that the disease can be treated with the blood of Ebola survivors, which contains the antibodies necessary to defeat the disease. But the science is still unclear about whether transfusions would work. "Who does it work on, how does it work exactly, when doesn't it work, what's the right amount to give, all those things—that information really isn't clear," a World Health Organization spokesperson told National Journal's Kaveh Waddell.

â—† The incubation time (i.e., how long a virus can stay dormant in a body before infection sets in) for Ebola is two to 21 days, according to the World Health Organization and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. But the risk of contracting Ebola after 21 days post-exposure does not drop to zero.According to a recent study in the Journal PLOS Current Outbreaks, even after 30 days, the risk of contracting the disease is eight in 1,000.

(The WHO's graph of the Ebola incubation times for the first nine months of the outbreak.)

â—† Two Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital nurses who treated the late Thomas Eric Duncan, the first person diagnosed with the disease in the U.S., got sick themselves. Here's what went wrong: The nurses were not not wearing the proper protective gear to shield them from Duncan's bodily fluids. And health authorities didn't stop one of the nurses from flying on a plane with a low-grade fever, risking exposure to her fellow passengers.

Since the worst outbreak of Ebola in history spilled into the United States, the news saturated both American airwaves and the American consciousness. In a recent NBC-Wall Street Journalpoll, 98 percent of Americans said they were aware of the unfolding story. There's a lot to keep track of: how the virus is transmitted, how it may be stopped, and which politicians are offering constructive solutions and which are not. Here's what we've learned about this rapidly updating story alongside the rest of the world in the last few months.

â—† While there is no cure for Ebola, there's mixed evidence that the disease can be treated with the blood of Ebola survivors, which contains the antibodies necessary to defeat the disease. But the science is still unclear about whether transfusions would work. "Who does it work on, how does it work exactly, when doesn't it work, what's the right amount to give, all those things—that information really isn't clear," a World Health Organization spokesperson told National Journal's Kaveh Waddell.

â—† The incubation time (i.e., how long a virus can stay dormant in a body before infection sets in) for Ebola is two to 21 days, according to the World Health Organization and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. But the risk of contracting Ebola after 21 days post-exposure does not drop to zero.According to a recent study in the Journal PLOS Current Outbreaks, even after 30 days, the risk of contracting the disease is eight in 1,000.

(The WHO's graph of the Ebola incubation times for the first nine months of the outbreak.)

â—† Two Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital nurses who treated the late Thomas Eric Duncan, the first person diagnosed with the disease in the U.S., got sick themselves. Here's what went wrong: The nurses were not not wearing the proper protective gear to shield them from Duncan's bodily fluids. And health authorities didn't stop one of the nurses from flying on a plane with a low-grade fever, risking exposure to her fellow passengers.

â—† But most experts agree: A travel ban wouldn't work, and even could get in the way of humanitarian efforts to help West African countries. Experts also say increased Ebola airport-screenings won't work either. Passengers who may be carrying the disease but asymptomatic would still go undetected. "It's like looking for a needle in 10,000 haystacks," Joshua Michaud, associate director of global health policy at the Kaiser Family Foundation, told National Journal's Sophie Novack.

â—† But most experts agree: A travel ban wouldn't work, and even could get in the way of humanitarian efforts to help West African countries. Experts also say increased Ebola airport-screenings won't work either. Passengers who may be carrying the disease but asymptomatic would still go undetected. "It's like looking for a needle in 10,000 haystacks," Joshua Michaud, associate director of global health policy at the Kaiser Family Foundation, told National Journal's Sophie Novack.